Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report

Las Vegas hotels lure Latino gamblers

I've been getting the most interesting and obscure news from HispanicTips lately. Today, the piece that really stood out for me is from an online publication called CashatCasinos.com. Not exactly what I'm used to reading, but hey, the article is related to Latino marketing. It's about how the Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas is going out of its way to lure Latino gamblers. According to the article:

Starting this month, the Plaza will show soccer games and list soccer betting lines to lure Hispanic bettors with snacks including Cuban sandwiches and green chiles.

Mmm...you know, there's nothing a Mexican likes better than a Cuban sandwich...and there is nothing like a couple of "green chiles" to lure me away from the MGM Grand and over to the "Latino-friendly" casino. Gimme a break.

Some slot makers are introducing Hispanic-theme slot machines using celebrities to attract the growing Hispanic population, Crystal said.

"Hispanic-theme" slot machines...I hope you mean slot machines that operate in Spanish and not machines adorned with chile peppers and maracas.

I sound like a broken record, but why don't casinos (and any other business looking to target Latinos) start with THE no-brainer, VERY necessary marketing investment? Translate your marketing materials, namely your web site. You NEED to do it. Don't know anyone who can? Call me and I will refer you to someone.

Some of you may be saying, "You are always complaining about companies' badly translated web sites. They can't win with you!"

Well, kind of. But at least those companies know that language is crucial. Yes, they need to try a lot harder, but it's a logical place to start. (On that same note, I recently checked out Vehix.com just to see how their "cart before the horse" Latino marketing strategy is working out for them, and they STILL don't have a Spanish web site.)

Back to Vegas. Apparently, this Latino market grab is nothing new. In March of 2004, LatinoPundit reported on the same trend, citing a story that talked about the possibility of Las Vegas' Castaways Resort shifting its focus to Latino customers. After a little research I found that just this past July Castaways found a very different fate.

Good luck Plaza!

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE
Technorati tags:

hispanic marketing, latino marketing, latino, las vegas

Aquí ya no hay chile

YAY! The Hispanic BzzAgent site no longer boasts chile peppers on its homepage. As you will recall, I complained about this in a recent post. Things like chile peppers tend to be cultural clichés...not to mention off-brand. Well, the folks at BzzAgent have been mighty friendly and mighty responsive (such good sports!) and the chiles (por muy sabrosos que se veían) are gone. They've been replaced by the BzzAgent logo with an Ñ.

The Ñ is at least a universal symbol of the Spanish language, not limiting entry to anyone who happens to come from a country with say, less picante. Bravo!

I'd like to think that we had a little something to do with this change (ahem), so thanks readers! And BzzAgent has gotten three posts here in one week (a record -- not to mention some major link love) so everyone's happy.

Buen fin de semana my little chile peppers!

Letters to the Editor: BzzAgent Revisited (Already!)

I got a very nice email this morning from BzzAgent's Hispanic Channel Director, Vanesa  Kolodziej-Guerra, thanking me for the comments on the site and letting me know that these observations will be taken into account. I was happy to hear it; companies who accept sincere feedback about their campaigns and work with that feedback benefit in the long run. They are able to directly hear their audience's wants and needs, and this feedback is free. This is the power of the internet.

I also wanted to point out that BzzAgent has a blog, where interested parties can provide such feedback on the Hispanic channel, as well as the mainstream channel. Have a look at it and put your two cents in.

WOM Marketing Aimed at Latinos

A release put out yesterday by WOMMA, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, claims to have come up with a sound methodology for measuring the effectiveness word-of-mouth marketing and have published its findings in a report which looks to answer six questions about ROI and measurability. On the heels of this, another release put out today by BzzAgent, a word-of-mouth marketing firm, announces the company's venture into the Hispanic market.

I think it's a great idea. As a market, Latinos, as well as other immigrant groups, do communicate proactively about products and services that they are pleased with. For newcomers, a common scenario is that all of the businesses an immigrant patronizes or products that he/she buys can be linked back to that first recommendation from someone who has been living in the US longer, and is therefore considered a credible source (and a perfect brand ambassador for the marketer).  The opposite is also true, as Latinos tend to come together when a business or industry does wrong by them politically, as evidenced in cases of boycotts of brands or entire industries. In this case, the strength of Latino word-of-mouth becomes a nightmare for the sector being targeted.

And, according to this post on the CustomerEvangelist blog, there is solid data to back up these assumptions.

I've spent some time on the BzzAgent site, and while I think they've got the right idea when it comes to recruiting Latinos to become word-of-mouth agents, the idea of what it's all about isn't spelled out clearly for the layman. Their site targets monolingual Spanish speakers, and features an FAQ with lots of questions and answers. They don't, however, explain what word-of-mouth marketing is. If you asked my mom what she thinks it is, she'll have a vague idea, but certainly wouldn't feel confident enough about the concept to sign up. And they want people like my mom.

Here the only definition is that it's a "community of fanatics that spread the word about products and services they are passionate about."

The question is answered, however, on their English site.

I often critique the way marketers use the Spanish language (very often improperly) and other tactics to reach out to Latinos. Lots of marketing experts say that it takes trust to market to the Latino community.  If the chief marketing tool here is their web site (a stronger one might be WOM itself), I can't see the level of confidence that I think is required to get Latinos on board with this. One of the FAQs reads (in Spanish):

Q. How many BzzAgents are there?
A. If you sign up today there will be one more than those we already have.

I don't feel the trust factor there. I hope I'm wrong, and I applaud the effort. This is definitely a great idea with potentially very powerful results, but the communications vehicles need to be honed. I'll be curious to see what other tactics they use to recruit Latino agents, and I plan to follow this story closely. Thanks to James Gross for the tip.

PS: Just to hammer home my typical song of staying away from cultural cliches in marketing, I ask: why does the Hispanic BzzAgent site have to have CHILE PEPPERS on it? That almost makes me want to apologize to the people behind those hacienda banks. That was at least a little more creative and less patronizing.

News: Dove's New Latino Campaign Targets Moms

Dove, a Unilever brand, announced today that a new national Latino ad campaign will target Latina moms, and will boast a celebrity spokesperson, Giselle Blondet. The campaign is approaching Latina mom consumers from the standpoint that they are stressed out by the challenges of everyday life--family, work, etc.--and need a way to recharge their batteries. Apparently, that way to do that is to take a shower.

According to the release:

"...Giselle Blondet joins an elite group of celebrities who lend their images and work with corporations developing an emotional connection between Latina consumers and a new beauty product. She will star in a series of vignettes that show how a Dove shower experience can help busy Latinas reconnect with themselves so they can feel refreshed, energized and ready to take on any responsibility – work, family or more. "

But no "Calgon take me away!" here:

"According to research conducted by Dove Body Wash, the shower is the only time many Latina Moms have for themselves without interruptions. Master explained that instead of encouraging the women to “escape from it all, like many other body wash companies do, Dove Body Wash wants to encourage women to take deeper care of their skin and use this time to renew, refresh and relax, so they can give more of themselves to their family – that’s a powerful message for the Latina woman who does it all.”

The campaign is in partnership with Univision; TV spots will air on Univision stations, and the content of the ads will be repurposed for online visitors of Univision.com.

HispanicBusiness.com             READ THE RELEASE

News: Nextel Debuts Spanish-language Website

Good job, Nextel. An entire site in Spanish with, according to the following press release (which I'm wondering whether or not they distributed in Spanish), 800 pages of content. The tagline isn't bad either: "otros hablan, nosotros hacemos". They actually are putting their money where their mouth is by making their web site, one of their strongest marketing tools, easier to use for Spanish-speaking customers.

This is a good example of a company doing what's necessary to welcome Latino customers by using language and identifying their needs instead of lame clichés and stereotypes.

The site also features a link on the homepage to the "Conexión Musical" tour I mentioned in a previous post.

Nextel.com/espanol Website Enhanced with More Than 800 Pages of Spanish Language Content; Site Showcases Nextel's Continued Commitment to Improving the Hispanic Customer Experience

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2005--Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL), a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services, today announced the launch of its newly-designed Spanish language Nextel.com/espanol website. The new site features more than 800 pages of Spanish language content and streamlined navigation to meet the needs of Nextel's Hispanic customers.


Customers can access Nextel's Spanish language website through the prominent "En Espanol" welcome button located on the Nextel.com home page or access it directly through www.nextel.com/espanol. The new site content provides extensive information about Nextel, its products, services and accessories, special promotional offers and support options for Spanish speaking customers.

"We have created an online experience for our Hispanic customer community that focuses on their core needs," said Miguel Avila, senior director, Nextel's Hispanic marketing. "Nextel understands the high value of instant communication and the new Spanish language website is a vital tool to help our Hispanic customers get things done quickly, easily and conveniently."

Nextel.com/espanol features user-friendly navigation allowing Hispanic customers to quickly locate information, make informed buying decisions and improve the overall online experience. The site clearly indicates if any subsequent pages will be in English. Key features of Nextel.com/espanol include:

-- Search Capacity - Customers can conduct a full search within the Spanish language site to find information about Nextel's products and services as well as support, service and repair information

-- Store Locator - Spanish speaking customers can locate and get turn-by-turn directions to their nearest Nextel Retail Store with bilingual sales representatives

-- Product User Guides are available in Spanish for download

-- Business Section - Targeted section to assist Hispanic Small Office/Home Office businesses

-- Enhanced Customer Service - Easy-to-find links to the information customers need most, including Nextel customer care, service and repair options, upgrade information and answers to FAQs. Spanish speaking customers can also request to have a Spanish speaking sales representative call them at their convenience

Nextel will promote the launch of its Spanish language website with a Spanish online marketing campaign. The online campaign includes placements in Yahoo en Espanol, MSN Latino, AOL Latino, Terra and Univision, as well as Spanish search in Yahoo and Google.

Article: Search Engine Marketing for Latinos

WebProNews reports that: "...Google and Univision are talking about a partnership that would improve the prospect of search engine marketing using Spanish language."

It's a good thing that someone has finally noticed that Google, whether it be the Mexican version, or another version in Spanish, is used by millions of Spanish speakers worldwide, including US Latinos (some who search in both English and Spanish) -- the group marketers are really after. Google, of course, knew this, and localized its sites long ago. But up until now the Latino market seems to have been an afterthought with regards to search engine marketing. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, if you speak Spanish, try searching Google for something you really want to purchase in that language. Say, a baby stroller. Type in carrito bebe and you'll come up with something, but the results will be far less appealing than those you'll find in English. And, if you are a Latino in the US, you are out of luck, because most of the results you'll find are for products located in Spain, Peru, etc. Now try googling baby stroller. You'll get Wal-Mart, BizRate and thousands more options.

This two-part article by WebProNews' Chris Richardson talks about the present and the future of search engine marketing geared toward Latino consumers. For more background, check out Nacho Hernandez's post on the topic on Search Engine Roundtable, referenced in this article.

Google And Univision Focusing On Spanish Search Marketing
Chris Richardson | Staff Writer | 2005-06-27

As more and more Hispanic users gravitate to the Internet and all that it offers, their exposure to search engines and the marketing associated with them increases as well. However, is there sufficient Spanish language support to provide these users with a seamless Internet shopping experience? Probably not...

So to remedy this, Google and Univision are talking about a partnership that would improve the prospect of search engine marketing using Spanish language. According to Nacho Hernandez, who posted this story at Search Engine Roundtable, Univision has one of the largest portals catering to the Spanish-speaking population in the United States.

A partnership like this will only improve the current state of Spanish-speaking supported search advertising, which currently hovers around non-existent. Nacho provides sound reasoning why an agreement like this would be successful:

"I believe the objective of encouraging advertisers to translate their websites into Spanish mainly relies on the fact that U.S. Hispanics sometimes think in Spanish, therefore they will search in Spanish. Other times they think in English so they will search in English. They are not a "one size fits all" user, nor the statistics of how many are Spanish preferred versus English preferred reveal how dynamic the user is when searching. In my opinion, they are bi-lingual and bi-cultural. It's important to target U.S. Hispanics in both languages..."

WebProNews    READ MORE OF PART ONE   READ PART TWO

Hold the Phones! More News About Phones

From the UK's cellular-news.com, this article is a continuation of some previous posts about cell phone Latino marketing wars:

Telecom marketing to Hispanics part of new ethnic focus

Telecom providers are marketing more aggressively to ethnic groups, reports In-Stat. Examples of this include Qwest's low-cost long distance calling plans for Mexico, and Sprint's launch of Movida Communications, both of which target the more than 42 million Hispanics in the United States. Many of the current ethnic marketing initiatives tend to focus on the Hispanic market, as this is the largest ethnic population, with more than 43 million individuals in 2005.

"In-Stat has also found that some ethnic groups react better to specific types of advertising and marketing, and are influenced by different sources," said Amy Cravens, In-Stat analyst. "In better understanding these differences, providers may be able to more fully realize the potential subscribership of what may be undersubscribing ethnic groups."

A recent report by In-Stat found the following:

-- Although decreases in revenues from wireline services are expected from subscribers of all ethnicities, the lowest declines are expected from Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander subscribers due to their population growth.

-- By 2009, more than 40.4 million whites are expected to subscribe to broadband. The number of Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander subscribers is expected to grow at faster rates, however.

-- African-Americans are expected this year to account for the second-greatest percentage of dial-up subscribers, nearly 6.0 million. This number is expected to fall to 4.3 million by 2009.

 

Battle of the Cell Phone Companies

In a previous post, I mentioned Virgin Mobile's try for the US Latino market with a funny web site campaign called "Don't Be Normal", referring to "normal" people as those who are locked into cell phone contracts instead of having the freedom of a pay-as-you go plan. Well, it seems that Virgin's competitors in wooing the Latino market, those cell phone giants Motorola and Nextel, aren't just traditional in their calling plans, but also in their marketing tactics. They are banding together to create the "Conexión" tour, showcasing hot Latino pop acts in "intimate performances" in Latin hotbeds Miami, New York and Los Angeles. And as is the genius of integrated marketing programs, they tie it all back to the cell phones and their accessories, offering "Conexión Musical" wallpaper and ringtones of their favorite artists. And, to sweeten the deal, Nextel customers can attend the concerts for free (on a first come, first serve basis) by visiting the Nextel web site and registering.

Which cell phone provider's message will ring true with Latinos? I can't help but think that the Nextel/Motorola campaign will get more attention, given the glam factor and the fact that they are tapping into something of real interest to Latino youth, pop music. Plus all the nifty multimedia offerings like ringtones and such.

You see, cell phone companies aren't just after Latinos because of the boom in the market size, but because according to research, Latinos spend more money monthly for cell phones than their non-Latino counterparts, downloading things like ringtones or communicating via SMS (for background, have a look at this not-so-recent, but still relevant article). According to Arbitron:

"Cell phones and long-distance spending are also excellent categories for Hispanics. Thirty-one percent of Hispanics who own a cell phone use it as their primary phone service. (Source: Internet and Multimedia 11) Eleven percent of Hispanics spend over $100 on cell phones per month, compared to 7.5 percent of the non-Hispanic population."

Following is the Nextel/Motorola press release:

Nextel and Motorola Launch Conexion Musical Concerts With Award-Winning Artists Showcasing the Rhythms of Salsa and Latin Pop
PR Newswire

PRESTON, Va. and PLANTATION, Fla., June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nextel Communications Inc. and Motorola today announced the launch of the first-ever Conexion Musical concert tour featuring Victor Manuelle, Reyli and Kalimba. Created as a program to showcase the effusive beats of Latin music, Conexion Musical will unite artists with fans during intimate performances at some of the hottest venues in New York, Miami and Los Angeles in July.

Conexion Musical was designed to bring together Nextel's growing Hispanic customer base and music, including additional elements, such as custom Conexion Musical wallpaper and ring tones all focused on delivering the sights and sounds of their favorite artists.

"Conexion Musical is a great platform for Nextel to honor the fact that music surrounds Latinos in a special and profound way and continues to influence our own American musical landscape," said Miguel Avila, senior director of Nextel's Hispanic marketing. "Like the artists, Nextel is a young and vibrant company, and we believe this tour -- along with the custom ring tones and the custom compilation CD of the artists' music we are offering -- will serve as a way to reinforce our relationship with our growing Hispanic customer base."

"Music has consistently been one of the strongest pillars of our comprehensive US Hispanic marketing strategy," said Tamara Franklin, Director of Strategic Marketing and New Business Development of the Motorola iDEN Mobile Devices group. "Conexion Musical is the perfect vehicle to showcase our feature-rich products and deepen our commitment to the diverse US Hispanic community."

PR Newswire/Hispanic Business.com            READ MORE

 

Article: Virgin Mobile Spurs Hispanics to Leave 'Normal' Behind

The Virgin companies, with their smart and upbeat marketing, have long inspired admiration in me. It's interesting now to see how they are approaching the arena of Latino marketing. In this article, ClickZ's Pamela Parker takes a look at how Virgin Mobile is jumping on the bandwagon of providers who are looking to market their "pay as you go" cell phone plans to Latinos. Their tactic is to position those who use pre-paid plans as more interesting, innovative and "not normal", while communicating that those who have "traditional" contract cell phone plans are boring, mainstream and "normal". The campaign slogan: "no seas normal" ("don't be normal").

Normal, here, is bad. Not normal is good.

While this campaign is in line with the "defy the norm" spirit of the Virgin brands, I'm not sure how it will work with the Latino market. Virgin Mobile has set up a web site in support of the "don't be normal campaign" at www.noseasnormal.com. I'd be interested to hear your comments about the campaign, and predictions on its effectiveness, if you are so inclined to leave them.

My personal opinion: I like the comical skits they use to show normal as uncool and not normal as defiant and fresh. But I was put off by the lengthy and redundant text intro you get when you access the site. Interesting campaign indeed, and the humor is very Virgin (perhaps a bit too British?), and not at all like what we've seen in other Latino campaigns. That though, could be a good thing. We'll have to wait and see.

Virgin Mobile Spurs Hispanics to Leave 'Normal' Behind
Pamela Parker | ClickZ News | June 22, 2005

If being normal means signing a conventional wireless contract, Virgin Mobile USA is urging U.S. Hispanics to steer clear. This is the pay-as-you-go carrier's first integrated campaign aimed at the fast-growing minority group.

Virgin's Hispanic marketing agency, Miami-based La Comunidad, developed both online and offline creative for the Spanish-language effort.

The just-launched interactive aspect of the "No Soy Normal," or "I'm Not Normal," campaign consists of a video-driven Web site, at noseasnormal.com, which the company hopes will go viral. The site takes users through a series of scenarios in which they can choose the fate of the characters, by selecting whether to be normal or not be normal. If they choose to be out of the ordinary, they're rewarded with some surreal, but humorous, outcomes.

"The overall campaign attempts to show people that it's OK to be unconventional and it's OK to be, in effect, not normal," Bob Stohrer, VP of brand and communications at Virgin Mobile USA, told ClickZ News. "Normal, for us, at least the way we look at normal, is that normal equals contract plans. We're asking people to rethink that a bit."

In one "not normal" scenario on the site, a male character points at a small, yapping dog, and causes it to fly away and disappear, as if by magic. When the dog's owner, an attractive woman, comes looking for the canine, he offers to help her look for it and they end up going for a drink. Choosing to be normal ends the storyline's progression and sends the main character back to his desk in a windowless office.

ClickZ News            READ MORE